As Delhi government aims to have one EV charging station within every 3 km, citizens still concerned about safety

As Delhi government aims to achieve one public charging point for every 15 EVs spread evenly across the city and accessible within 3 km travel, Indians are reportedly ditching the plan to buy electric scooters in the next 6 months. According to data provided by community social media platform LocalCircles, only 1% of household consumers plan to buy an e-scooter in the next six months amid safety and performance concerns.

"The fire incidents, which resulted in injuries for some along with loss of vehicle, adversely impacted consumer sentiments leading to decline in electric vehicle two-wheeler sales for two months," the survey said. Ather Energy and Ola Electric have suffered the biggest drop in sales as customers delay purchasing EVs amid battery fire incidents.

According to the survey, around 32% of respondents are not convinced about the safety and performance of electric scooters in August while in March this year, the number stood at 17%.

The Centre and state governments in India are continuously pushing for EV adaptation in the country. There are currently over 1,640 operational public EV charging stations in India, of which more than 940 are in nine mega cities. Of these, 678 EV charging stations were installed between October 2021 and January 2022. The current capacity is geared to power about 1.8 lakh new electric vehicles.

To boost EVs in the capital, the Delhi government on Monday released the charging ‘action plan' for electric vehicles on completion of two years of its EV Policy that was first launched in 2020. The plan said that the biggest hindrance to the large-scale adoption of electric vehicles is inadequate charging infrastructure.

Titled ‘Charging/Swapping Infrastructure Action Plan for 2022-25', the document said that the national capital will operationalise the incentive provided to battery swapping facility operators in the Delhi EV policy. The action plan also said that Delhi will also align future measures with the draft of the battery swapping policy published by NITI Aayog on April 20, 2022, and with any subsequent amendments.

(With inputs from agencies)